5. References (<1 page)

Finally, references (or literature) closes the plan. It must list ONLY SOURCES USED IN THE PLAN; there is no point in adding lists of books you aim to read. This is academic work, after all.

The idea of a research plan is to express your resaerch idea, to communicate it to outsiders, and to halp you to plan it in sufficient detail. Do not use too much literature, but make sure you have read and understood the most important pieces of literature in your field of research, and have placed them into proper use.

Reference are important in evaluation. One of the things any evaluator with any experience does is to check through the references section to see whether the applicant is able to think through his or her problem in relation to existing knowledge. This section is a crucial resource in evaluation, so make sure that it is in good shape.

Use some commonly used style in formating the references. If you do not find anything else, goodle "Chicago Manual of Style" and get instructions for the social sciences or the humanities. A good alternative is ACM style. Do not use APA style, it is minimalistic; it is better to sart with more expansive style.